Hey! Leave the Year 12 Student Alone! Pick On Someone Your Own Theological Size!
A post by Neil Hart on Homosexuality, LGBT, lesbian and gay stuff and the Lutheran Church of Australia.
Hi Reader! Did you like my play on words in the title? From the tourist ad? Queensland…Beautiful one day, perfect th….?? Ohhhh… nevermind :(
Anyway, over the last few months people have been sending me stuff that focusses on gay issues in the church. People send cartoons, youtube clips even disturbing statements they heard preached by their pastor that Sunday (It would be a bit rude to post those.) If you have seen or heard anything worth highlighting…let me know ok?
email: neil.hart@live.com.au
This post comes from a newspaper article. Strap yourselves in for THIS ride.
Reader, you know that I always quote my sources if I can… but this time I wont. It involves a year 12 Student in a Lutheran College in a Queensland town with more O’s than they know what to do with. I think that both the student and the College have received quite enough unwanted publicity and stress over this issue and I do not wish to add to the noise. I do however want to talk about some of the issues surrounding this incident as it relates to the pastors and congregations of our church.
I was notified over a week ago about an article in a Qld newspaper. The article spoke of a Year 12 Lutheran College student who had been asked a question on a radio program leading up to the Qld state election. The question was to do with gay marriage. The student said he couldn’t see anything wrong with it.
Ok. Cool. Intelligent, articulate student expresses point of view. End of story…
Well, maybe in a reasonable world that would be true, But remember, we ARE talking about the Lutheran Church and its attitude to homosexuality. Did you really expect reason and common sense?
There is a breakaway group from the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA). They are called the Australian Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC). From what I understand they are a very small group of only a few congregations. Some people refer to them as the “Chapter One” group because of their fundamentalist and literalist views on the first chapter of the Bible. God created the world in 6, 24 hour days, evolution is a lie, all women should be submissive to men and stone axes and flint arrowheads can be sharpened by crouching down and rubbing them on rocks.
(This blog’s legal department has just advised me that I should clarify that the last sentence is meant as a joke)
Anyway…they are a pretty conservative group.
On hearing the year 12 student’s shocking statement, it is reported from a most unreliable source, that most of them fainted and one of them died.
Those who remained conscious immediately placed an ad in the paper damning this disgraceful expression of independent thought.
Reader, I’ve been describing these events in a facetious manner. No one actually died…or fainted…And I wish that the last bit was a joke too. But, sadly…that’s exactly what they did.
A pastor of the AELC told me that a member of the church who was also a past student of the College, demanded that the College disavow what the student had said. The AELC member is said to have advised the principal that unless he took action, they would go to the press.
Reader, can you see how silly this whole thing is? Just imagine what kind of statement the College might have made if they had given in to the demand.
The Board, principal and staff of (name) college wish to advise that they distance themselves from the independent articulate and intelligent thoughts expressed by our year 12 student. This is in no way encouraged by our college. I wish to assure the community that most of the students are well practised in the simple, unquestioning regurgitation of religious formula. We apologise that our indoctrination process has failed in this instance. Through a process of sleep deprivation, monotone non-stop reading of scripture and a series of exorcisms we are sure that the student involved will quickly repent of his expression of compassion and justice for the gay members in the community. We apologise for any distress we may have caused.
Thank goodness the College appears to have acted with simple common sense in not bowing to the demand. So, as threatened, the AELC members went to the press.This is the wording of the ad that they placed in the paper.
“While the Evangelical Lutheran Church is not affiliated with (name) College, it nevertheless emphatically states that on the basis of Holy Scripture, homosexuality is to be opposed, and warns that any who continue in this practice are in danger of losing salvation,”
The newspaper found all of this interesting enought to lift the ad out of the obscurity of the ads section and put into the body of an article explaining the whole sorry state of affairs under the heading…
“Church makes anti gay stand.”
Wow! You cant buy advertising like that!
What was that curch’s name again? Oh yeh… these guys are the EVANGELICAL Lutherans. Interesting word that. EVANGELICAL. It is made up of two bits from the Greek language. There is the angelos bit which means “messenger”. Then there is the eu (ev) bit in front which means “good”. Being ”evangelical” is all about being a messenger who brings good news. Usually it refers to the good news about God’s love shown to the world in Jesus.
So, what “good news” is being preached here?
Hey Gays! You’re going to hell!
Woops, Sorry. that’s not quite right. The AELC ad. “emphatically states”…
Ok then…
HEY GAYS! YOU ARE ALL GOING TO HELL!
Sure sounds like good news to me! And , no doubt, the whole episode has been motivated by the AELC’s loving concern for the year 12 student and the hope that he is not distracted from achieving the very best results possible in his final year at the College.
(Hmmmmm. I think i like the Simpson’s Sarcasm Detector better. What about you, reader?)
Anyway, as if all this wasn’t bad enough…let me for-warn you. You aint heard nothin’ yet. Yes, believe it or not, it gets worse. Stay tuned later in the week for instalment 2.
BTW,,,if you want some genuine examples of good news proclamations…look here…
John 9: Jesus and the Man Born Gay! Judgement! And the Offence of a Radical Gospel.
“The person in front of me” says Jesus “Not the Law”
“It’s all about inclusion” says Jesus “Not exclusion”
Be careful Neil
I thought you were trying to win friends and and influence people. This is not the way to do it.
You’re are almost libelous. I’d hate to see that happen.
The way you are attacking everyone with differing views to yours is very arrogant. especially when you bag the great state of Queensland.
Don’t blame Queenslanders for your problems okay.
Keep you hands off the great state of Queensland.
Not impressed by your attack on Queensland or your generalizations about Queensland Lutheran’s . You owe a whole lot of decent people in the church here a genuine apology.
Neil I’m afraid you are just polarizing people and doing your cause no good by your belligerence.
Kevin
Kevin
Belligerent one day, Paranoid the next? I did put a question mark at the end.
I thought it was a clever play on words. If it gave you offence Kevin kevin, I sincerely apologise and ask your forgiveness. And I apologise to anyone else offended by the title of my blog. Please contact me personally, as Kevin has done so that I can clear the air with you. Attempts at humour often go awry. But then again. I barrack for the Dockers. Maybe I have developed a thicker skin that most. So, Kevin. A few questions if you please.
1. Do I have your forgiveness?
2. You mention the word libellous. I don’t believe anything that I have said comes close to that category. Could you please identify the libellous section/s so that i can correct, remove or defend them. Did you know Kevin that the CoP mentioned my name recently in relation to cyber abuse. Apparently complaints have been made about me. No names, no substantiation to the accusation, just a casual name-dropped half accusation. THAT has the potential of being considered libellous. You might now appreciate that i am a little bit sensitive when it comes to accusations of this sort. I’m sure you understand that. I thank you for having the courage to challenge me directly unlike those nameless people who spoke to the CoP. (Well, almost directly, except for the fact that you are signing in as “anonymous”). I would, however, really appreciate you to substantiate your accusation or else withdraw it.
3. You said…”i’d hate to see that happen”. What do you mean? What might happen? I need you to know that I perceive that statement as a threat. You seem to be saying that something bad might happen to me as a result of what I have written. Could you please clarify or withdraw this statement.
4. I dont think I have linked Queensland to any of my problems. I’m starting to be in a really good place, Kevin. Thanks for your concern. I actually believe that God is calling me to do this and the support that this blog gives to some LGBT people in Australia and overseas confirms that belief. I think Jesus smiles with every hurting gay person who hears the Gospel through these posts.
5. Can you tell me which of my statements (apart from the attempt at humour in the title) were attacks and generalisations about Queensland Lutherans? I thought that i was quite specific in my post, without unnecessarily naming the town or the college involved.
6. I think people are pretty polarised already Kevin. Thats why the blog started. I’m the first one to speak publically from waaaayyyyyyy over this side of the argument. As a result I have been called abusive, false prophet, church splitter and vow breaker. I think what is happening Kevin is that, because I am speaking things that make you feel uncomfortable, because I am challenging beliefs that you hold dear, you feel personally hurt and you feel defensive for your church and (as Queenslanders are want to do) your state. I can understand that. But please don’t misinterpret those feelings. I am not attacking you or any other person. I am attacking ideas that continue to hurt the LGBT people in our church. Real people, Kevin, who are personally, emotionally, spiritually, professionally and even economically deeply hurt by the things our church have said about them and done to them. If you feel hurt by my attack on your ideas, I’m sorry but… bad luck. Respond with a defence of your ideas. Don’t divert your feeling into a personal attack on me.
One more question then…
7. Do you agree with what was done by the AELC in respone to the year 12′s statement. Thats what this post is all about after all. I think it is reprehensible. What about you Kevin?
Hi,
After reading the title I was a bit peeved but decided to read the article any way. Once reading I was delighted to see how the title correlated with the story and could not agree more with the entire article, well done. If only there were more people like your self, I don’t seem to run into many.
Jack
Yeh.. Thanks Jack. I guess ur a queenslander. sorry… I overstepped the mark with the title…poor attempt at humour. I might have to change it. Thanks for reading, glad you enjoyed it. Part 2 is coming. waiting on some phone calls.